Nixon Smyth 44 A1414-625 Men’s 44mm Stainless Steel Dive-Style Quartz Watch – Black Dial, Silver Steel Bracelet

Nixon Smyth 44 A1414-625: Silver Steel and a Black Dial

The Nixon Smyth 44 A1414-625 is the plain-spoken version of Nixon’s 44 mm steel sports watch. Nixon calls the colourway Silver / Black, and that is exactly what you get: a bright stainless steel case and bracelet with a black dial, a countdown bezel and a sapphire crystal. It is a quartz watch with three hands and a date, rated to 100 metres, and it is designed for a man who wants a sturdy bracelet watch he does not have to think about. Of the Smyth 44 colourways, this is the most traditional pairing of metal and dial.

Size and How It Wears

A 44 mm diameter and roughly 11 mm of thickness give the Smyth a solid but not extreme profile. It looks sizeable on a slim wrist and balanced on a larger one, and the case height is low enough to slide under most sleeves. The 23 mm bracelet is wide for its length, which helps spread the weight of a full steel watch across the wrist. The silver tone is consistent across case, bezel and bracelet, so no part of the watch fights with another when you glance down at it.

• 44 mm steel case – clear, readable and visible from across a table
• About 11 mm thick – slimmer than many watches of this diameter
• 23 mm bracelet – wide, supportive and easy to swap

The Black Dial

The face is black, in line with the Silver / Black colourway name, and it is built on the Smyth’s two-layer, die-cut design. Nixon describes the numbers on this range as stamped and cut through the upper layer so that the layer beneath shows in the openings. The effect is a face with depth, where the numerals look carved out rather than printed. A date window sits at three o’clock. Underneath the dial layer is Swiss Super-LumiNova, which lets the numbers glow after the watch has been exposed to light. Against a dark background, a glowing marker is much easier to read than on a pale one, which makes this black version one of the more legible choices in the range.

Case, Bezel and Crown

The case is solid stainless steel. The bezel is a unidirectional countdown ring, so it turns one way only. The idea is borrowed from dive watches: you set the bezel to align with the minute hand, and the elapsed time can then be read from the ring. Because it cannot move backward, an accidental knock can only make you leave the water early. The crown is a screw-down type with a crown guard, and it must be screwed back in after you set the date or the time for the 10 ATM rating to apply.

Movement and What It Does

The Smyth 44 uses a Japanese three-hand quartz movement, which Nixon lists as a Miyota 2117. It tells the hours, minutes and seconds and shows the date. There are no complications, sub-dials or chronograph pushers to learn. A battery powers the movement, usually for a few years, and the time stays accurate without the daily attention that a mechanical watch demands. If you want a watch to put on in the morning and ignore until evening, this is the sort of movement that suits that habit.

• Three-hand quartz – consistent timekeeping with no winding
• Date at three o’clock – one window, easy to read
• Sapphire crystal – a scratch-resistant cover for the black dial

Bracelet and Fit

The bracelet is made of solid stainless steel in a three-link pattern, with a quick-release spring bar design that lets you remove it without tools. It is also a free-swing design, so the bracelet pivots freely at the lugs. The clasp is a dual locking deployment type with a micro adjuster. You can open the clasp and set one of several positions to fine-tune the length. For men with wrists that change size with the weather, or between morning and evening, this is a genuinely useful feature, since it avoids having to visit a jeweller for each small change.

Water Resistance

This watch is rated to 10 ATM, which equals 100 metres. For everyday use, that means you can wear it in the shower, at the pool and in the sea, and you can snorkel with it. It is not intended for scuba diving to depth. Make sure the crown is screwed in before any contact with water, and do not turn the crown or press anything underwater. After a swim in the sea, rinse the watch under fresh water to remove salt from the bracelet and clasp.

Who It Suits

• Men looking for a durable daily watch with a bracelet and a black dial
• Buyers who want a sapphire crystal at a sensible level of complication
• Active people who need a watch they can wear to the beach and then to the office
• Anyone who wants a simple, readable date watch without chronograph clutter

Care Notes

Wash the bracelet occasionally in lukewarm water with a drop of mild soap, then dry it with a soft cloth. Avoid cleaning products with harsh chemicals. Steel will pick up fine hairline marks with daily wear, and these can be softened by a professional polish if they bother you. Replace the battery at a watch workshop that can test the seals after the case is opened. Keep the watch away from strong magnetic fields, such as speakers, and from very hot places like a car dashboard.

About Nixon

Nixon began in 1998 in southern California and built its reputation on watches for surfers, skaters and snowboarders. The brand’s designs focus on legibility, sturdy construction and details such as screw-down crowns and tool-free bracelets. The Smyth 44 is one of its steel sports models, and the Silver / Black version is joined in the range by Super Black / Black, Camo / Green, Khaki / Red and Silver / Tunnel Black Ombre colourways.

Technical Specifications